When Li Xiu and Ma Ye were chatting about the main general to attack Goguryeo next year, they didn't expect that someone behind them suddenly interrupted them loudly, and when they heard the sound and looked, they found that a middle-aged man about forty years old came over with a smile, only to see that the other party was tall and thin, but not the kind of thin that couldn't help but be weak, but looked very strong, and the whole person stood there like a spear, as if it could pierce the sky.

"English Princess!" When Li Xiu and Ma Ye saw this sturdy middle-aged man, they couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, this middle-aged man was none other than Li Ji, who was named the Duke of England by Li Shimin.

"Haha~, Li took the liberty to come, and I hope that Brother Ma and the horse don't be surprised!" I saw Li Ji laugh again, and then stepped forward to salute Li Xiu and Ma Ye respectively, and the smile on his face never stopped, which made people feel very cordial.

"You're welcome, but why are you here?" Li Xiu finally woke up from his surprise at this time, and looked at Li Jidao with some incredulity. If it was a few years ago, it would not be inconceivable to see Li Ji in Chang'an, but more than two years ago, Li Ji's mother died, and he also went back to his hometown to worry about it, and calculated the time, as if his filial piety period had not yet expired?

"I'm ashamed to say that I was supposed to be at home for my deceased mother's filial piety, but some time ago, His Majesty issued an order to take love and let me return to Beijing in advance to be on standby, I didn't know what it was until I returned to Chang'an, it turned out that His Majesty was going to do something to Goguryeo." Li Ji said with a smile again, and when he talked about Goguryeo, a strong desire also erupted in his eyes.

The so-called love grabbing is actually a specific word, which refers to the courtier's need to keep filial piety due to the death of his parents, but the court can't do without him, so the emperor can issue an order so that the minister does not have to keep filial piety, which is also called love grabbing.

Hearing Li Ji's words, Li Xiu and Ma Ye couldn't help but glance at each other, if the two couldn't guess each other's intentions at this time, it would be too stupid. So I saw Ma Ye stroking his beard at this time and said with a smile: "I see, Your Majesty really attaches great importance to the British Duke, this time the use of troops against Goguryeo is a rare opportunity in ten thousand years, the old man is here to congratulate the British Duke!" ”

"Brother Ma is polite, in fact, His Majesty summoned me back this time, and he did not designate me to be the chief general, but for this attack on Goguryeo, I am not boasting, at least I feel that I am better than Cheng Yanjin!" Li Ji smiled again at this time, and when he said this, he also deliberately glanced at Li Xiu.

The reason why Li Ji came here is very simple, it is nothing more than to seek Li Xiu's support, speaking of which, when he learned that the imperial court was going to use troops against Goguryeo, he was also determined to win the post of the main general, so he went to see Li Shimin immediately after returning to Chang'an, but he didn't know what kind of considerations Li Shimin had, and he didn't immediately appoint him as the main general, it seemed that he wanted to observe it again.

"Ahem, the British Duke is proficient in the art of war, and he is indeed a model for our juniors, speaking of which, just now my Uncle Ma was also discussing how to attack Goguryeo, why don't the British Duke also come and express his opinion?" Li Xiu knew what Li Ji was thinking, but he deliberately coughed dryly, and then diverted the topic to the strategy of attacking Goguryeo, and did not answer his words at all.

Li Ji also knew that it was not so easy to get Li Xiu to immediately express his support for him, after all, he had heard that Li Xiu and Cheng Yanjin had a good relationship, so he went to find the eldest grandson Wuji before, but the other party was also an old fox, and he just didn't talk about the topic, so he came to Li Xiu to try his luck in desperation.

"In fact, it is difficult to attack Goguryeo, and it is easy to say that it is simple, and the key lies in the words 'people'!" I saw Li Ji take a long breath at this time, and then express his opinion.

"Oh, I would like to hear from the English public!" Li Xiu also showed a solemn expression when he heard the other party's words, Li Ji is indeed worthy of being a master of the art of war, and he immediately got to the point of the matter.

"Goguryeo is located in Liaodong, occupying the right time and place, and the only thing we can rely on in the Tang Dynasty is only people, compared to Goguryeo, our Tang soldiers are full of food, and before Su Dingfang continued to bleed Goguryeo in Liaodong, now Goguryeo can be said to be exhausted, then we only need to count the army at the same time, the light and dark divisions are combined, we can definitely defeat the defenders of Goguryeo in one fell swoop, and the army will go straight to Pyongyang City!" Li Ji spoke again.

Although Li Ji's answer was a bit general, Li Xiu also understood, the other party wanted to rely on the superior strength of the Tang Dynasty to attack Goguryeo directly from the front, the advantage of this is very safe, as long as the time is enough, the Tang army may take Pyongyang City before the winter comes, and the disadvantage is also very obvious, that is, it may cause a lot of casualties, after all, as the attacking side, it will naturally have to pay a great price to break through the opponent's city wall.

"British duke, have you ever considered attacking from the sea and penetrating the heart of Goguryeo with an elite army, so that you may be able to save a lot of effort." Li Xiu thought for a moment at this time and then opened his mouth to propose, he and Su Dingfang had discussed this method at the beginning, and finally Su Dingfang gave a very positive answer from a professional point of view, thinking that this could greatly shorten the time of the war and reduce the casualties of the Tang Dynasty.

"This ......" Li Ji couldn't help but show a hesitant expression when he heard Li Xiu's proposal, and after a long while, he slowly spoke, "Attacking from the sea is also a way, but this method has to take a lot of risks, in case of failure, I am afraid that this partial division will be lost, and it will also cause a serious blow to the morale of the army at that time, so I don't think it is better to use this method as a last resort!" ”

"So what if that's the case, for example, with a large army to storm from the front, attract the elite of Goguryeo to the Liaodong area, and then send a partial division from the sea to Pyongyang City, this risk is much smaller?" Li Xiu spoke again at this time, this is also the method finally determined by Su Dingfang, and even he proposed to lead the troops in person, firstly, he knows the best about Goguryeo, and secondly, he is used to fighting this kind of tough battle.

"This does reduce the risk, but when it comes to actual operation, there may be all kinds of situations, and the sea march is already very dangerous, maybe a storm will wipe out the entire fleet of troops, so for the sake of safety, I think it is more certain to attack from land!" Li Ji spoke again at this time.

Seeing that Li Ji did not agree with the method of attacking Goguryeo from the sea, Li Xiu couldn't help but be a little disappointed, but he didn't show it on the surface, but smiled indifferently: "I see, it seems that I have taken it for granted!" ”

"In fact, it is not completely impossible to attack from the sea, and the time can change with the times, after all, no one dares to guarantee what happens on the battlefield." Li Ji also seemed to feel a little reckless at this time to reject Li Xiu's proposal, after all, he still needed Li Xiu to help him intercede in front of Li Shimin, so he spoke again.

"The British Duke is also for the sake of safety, after all, our Datang occupies an advantage in military strength and national strength, and this battle is also very important to our Datang, so the risk of attacking from the front is also minimal." At this moment, Ma Ye also suddenly smiled.

"What Brother Ma said is that if our Datang is in a weak position, it is not impossible to take a risk, but we now occupy a strategic advantage, although the time and place cannot be changed, but in the face of the huge advantage, these two disadvantages are not completely irreparable, so if you can not take risks, don't take risks!" Li Ji also smiled at this time and spoke again.

Li Xiu also nodded when he heard this, after all, what Li Ji said was also very reasonable, so he asked the other party about the detailed proposition, and Li Ji was indeed prepared, and he also talked about his general combat ideas at the moment.

Although Li Xiu is not very proficient in military affairs, he is good friends with Ma Ye and Qin Qiong, plus his wife is also a famous general of the Tang Dynasty, and he has also participated in the battle to destroy the Turks, so Li Ji's battle plan can also be understood, I have to say that Li Ji is indeed a great general, the whole battle plan is thorough and complicated, and with the cooperation of several large armies, it is indeed very likely to take Pyongyang before winter.

"What does the colt think of Li's plan?" In the end, after Li Ji finished speaking, he asked Li Xiu with a smile, the reason why he explained so patiently was actually to make Li Xiu believe in his own strength, after all, he knew that Li Xiu generally did not only look at personal affairs in this kind of major matter, as long as he could prove that he was strong and bit gold, then Li Xiu would recommend himself to Li Shimin.

"The British public's plan is really thorough, and it is also an eye-opener for the next one!" Li Xiu said with a smile at this time, but he still didn't say anything, in fact, he really admired Li Ji's plan, but it was still early, and it was really not the time for him to make a statement.

Hearing Li Xiu say this, Li Ji also knew that Li Xiu was probably the same as the eldest grandson Wuji, and he was going to touch a soft nail again today, but there was no way, and he was mentally prepared to fail today.

Therefore, Li Ji was not discouraged, and immediately chatted with Li Xiu about the affairs of Goguryeo for a while, and then got up to say goodbye, Li Xiu and Ma Ye also stood up to see each other, after all, everyone is an official in the same dynasty, even if there are differences between each other, they still have to get by on the surface.

"Uncle Ma, what do you think of the British duke, is it really stronger than General Cheng?" As soon as Li Ji left, Li Xiu immediately asked Ma Ye.

"In terms of leading troops and commanding, he is indeed stronger than Lao Cheng, but have you noticed that Li Ji actually has a big shortcoming?" I saw that Ma Ye looked at the direction Li Ji left at this time and spoke, and there was a pity on his face when he spoke.